Roger B. Ulrich

Courses Taught at Dartmouth College:

Classical Studies 4: Mythology (Taught regularly in the summer)
An introduction to Greek myths and the way in which their use in literature developed, from the use of myths as religious story to the utilization of myth in drama and its exploitation in poetry.
Open to all classes. Dartmouth Distribution: TMV; WCult: CI.

This special topics course offers an introduction to the most important machines and processes of Greek and Roman technology. Emphasis will be on the practical implications and applications of ancient technologies and engineering. Within the broad range of technologies surveyed, students will focus on specific case studies to provide deeper analysis and understanding of individual topics. Reading will be based on a textbook and selected chapters and articles from secondary sources. Greek and Roman writers will also be read in translation.
Open to all students. Dist: TAS; WCult

Classical Studies11 Special Topic: The Later Roman Empire, from Severus to Theodosius: From Divine Emperors to God as Emperor. (not offered in 2015. see syllabus).

An interdisciplinary course that examines the history and archaeology of the late Roman Empire from the reigns of Septimius Severus (193-211) through Theodosius (379-395). We begin by reviewing features of the Roman Empire at its height: a world of cities, efficient government characterized by imperial administration and competent leadership, and an intellectual and religious life participated in by a pan-Mediterranean, Roman elite. We then consider the internal and external challenges faced by the imperial state (military pressures at the frontiers, the growing Christian sect and its effect on traditional institutions, financial crises) and efforts to restore and maintain stability. The complementary study of historical and archaeological sources will allow students to develop an appreciation of disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives, as we consider the changed intellectual and experiential frameworks of classical and Christian world-views in the later Roman Empire.

Classical Studies 24: Etruscan and Early Roman Archaeology: The Rise of Rome (see sample syllabus; most recent offering Fall 2014; next offered Fall 2016)
This course begins with the archaeology of Late Neolithic and Iron Age Italy, then focuses upon the Etruscans, early Latium and the development of Republican Rome and her colonies, concluding with the death of Caesar in 44 B.C. In addition to a chronological development of the material culture of Italy, we will explore at least two important cultural topics: 1) Etruscan religion and its influence on the Roman sacro-political system; 2) the machinery of Roman government as expressed in the spaces in Rome (and other sites) that played host to political ritual: the Arx, the Forum, the Comitium, the Curia, the Tribunal and the Basilica.
Open to all Classes. Dartmouth Distribution: Dist: SOC; WCult: W.

Classical Studies 25: (sample syllabus): Early Roman Imperial Archaeology: The First Emperors (next offered Spring 2015)
Through archaeological sites and related artifacts, this course examines the Roman empire as it was transformed under the rule of the emperors. This course begins with a close look at the first emperor, Augustus, then continues with an examination of the reigns of the Julio-Claudians, Flavians, and Trajan. Discussion focuses on how ancient Italic traditions were transformed to suit the needs of the Imperial government (for example, the adaptation of the Republican, Hellenized Domus to the Imperial Palatium). The most dramatic change in religious practice is the development of the Imperial cult. Site analysis will stress the need for an imperial idiom, the accommodation of urban masses and the promotion of a sense of a shared cultural experience. The course will also examine the technological developments that led to Rome's "architectural revolution."
Open to all classes. Dartmouth Distribution: ART; WCult: W.

Classical Studies 26: Later Roman Imperial Archaeology: The Golden Age and Beyond (not offered in 2013-14)
This course surveys Roman archaeology from Hadrian to Constantine. Emphasis is placed upon the Antonine and Severan emperors, then shifts rapidly over most of the mid-third century to focus on Diocletian and the tetrarchy, Constantine and the move of the capital to Constantinople. The course ends with a look at the great church of Hagia Sophia, and consideration of the debt of early Christianity to pagan religious traditions. A major component of the course is the study of the Romanization of the provinces, and, more specifically, the complex process of cultural hybridization (imported Roman traditions melding with local practices). Such sites as Baalbek, Petra, Dura-Europos, Palmyra, Roman Egypt, Tripolitania, Tunisia and Algeria, Constantinian Jerusalem, Trier, Spalato, etc., may be included.
Open to all classes. Dist: ART; WCult: W.

ROME FOREIGN STUDY PROGRAM (Next offering: Fall term 2015; see a sample itinerary)
By means of extensive field trips throughout the Italian peninsula (e.g., Latium, Tuscany, Campania, Umbria) students engage in a systematic investigation of the sites, monuments, and artifacts of the Etruscan, Roman, and palaeo-Christian cultures of Italy under the direction of Dartmouth faculty. The aim of the program is to develop a coherent understanding of the processes of origin and growth, conflict and change in ancient Italy. To this end, the monuments of post-Classical Italy are also examined whenever possible, so that students may begin to understand the profound and continuing influence of ancient Italic cultures upon the development of western Europe. The itinerary for the fall of 2013 included a week of exploration of Roman sites in Turkey.
The curriculum embraces architecture, the visual arts, history, religion, and the basic techniques of archaeological analysis. Students learn to see and understand the Roman world in its own context through informal lectures and discussion in situ, under the open sky. The academic requirements consist of short weekly papers, oral reports, and an independent study project. For a student perspective see the blog from the program of 2013 or visit the archives of earlier Rome (and Greece) FSPs.